Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:1.5.1.3 (dihydrofolate reductase)
5,819 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

N-(5-[N-(3,4-dihydro-2-methyl-4-oxoquinazolin-6-ylmethyl)-N- methylamino]-2-thenoyl)-L-glutamic acid (ICI D1694) is a water-soluble, folate-based thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitor designed to be a less toxic and more potent analogue of the clinically tested N10-propargyl-5,8-dideazafolic acid. Inhibition of isolated L1210 TS by ICI D1694 is mixed noncompetitive (although tending toward competitive), with a Ki of 62 nM (Kies = 960 nM). The synthetic gamma-polyglutamates are up to 2 orders of magnitude more potent as inhibitors of TS; e.g., the tetraglutamate (glu4) has a Ki of 1.0 nM (Kies = 15 nM). Although inhibitory activity of ICI D1694 toward rat liver dihydrofolate reductase was similar to that of TS (Ki = 92 nM; competitive inhibition) the polyglutamate derivatives did not show enhanced activity. ICI D1694 was also a very potent inhibitor of L1210 cell growth (50% inhibitory activity = 8 nM). L1210 growth inhibition was not observed in the presence of thymidine, consistent with TS being the locus of action. Folinic acid antagonized L1210 growth inhibition in a competitive fashion such that the highest folinic acid concentration used (25 microM) increased the 50% inhibitory activity 6000-fold. When given as a 4-h delayed "rescue", folinic acid was much less effective in antagonizing growth inhibition. These observations are consistent with folinic acid competing with ICI D1694 for uptake into the cell and/or intracellular polyglutamation. The L1210:1565 cell line, which has greatly impaired reduced-folate/methotrexate transport and thus is resistant to methotrexate, was significantly cross-resistant to ICI D1694 (121-fold), suggesting that ICI D1694 is dependent on this uptake mechanism for good cytotoxic potency in L1210 cells. L1210 cells that were incubated for 4 h with 0.1 microM 3H-ICI D1694 accumulated approximately 1.5 microM intracellular 3H, and the high performance liquid chromatography analysis of the cell extracts demonstrated that 96% of the 3H was associated with the ICI D1694 polyglutamate fractions (principally glu4). Upon resuspension in drug-free medium for 24 h, approximately 75% of the cellular 3H was retained, this being the higher polyglutamate pool (glu4-6). In mice, after a single bolus injection of 10 mg/kg of ICI D1694, TS was inhibited greater than 80% for 24 h in ascitic L1210:NCI cells (as measured by the rate of 3H release from [5-3H]deoxyuridine). ICI D1694 cured the L1210:ICR ascitic tumor in mice at 0.4 mg/kg daily for 5 days (maximum tolerated dose, approximately 50 mg/kg).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:ICI D1694, a quinazoline antifolate thymidylate synthase inhibitor that is a potent inhibitor of L1210 tumor cell growth in vitro and in vivo: a new agent for clinical study. 191 76

We have applied site-directed mutagenesis methods to change the conserved tryptophan-22 in the substrate binding site of Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase to phenylalanine (W22F) and histidine (W22H). The crystal structure of the W22F mutant in a binary complex with the inhibitor methotrexate has been refined at 1.9-A resolution. The W22F difference Fourier map and least-squares refinement show that structural effects of the mutation are confined to the immediate vicinity of position 22 and include an unanticipated 0.4-A movement of the methionine-20 side chain. A conserved bound water-403, suspected to play a role in the protonation of substrate DHF, has not been displaced by the mutation despite the loss of a hydrogen bond with tryptophan-22. Steady-state kinetics, stopped-flow kinetics, and primary isotope effects indicate that both mutations increase the rate of product tetrahydrofolate release, the rate-limiting step in the case of the wild-type enzyme, while slowing the rate of hydride transfer to the point where it now becomes at least partially rate determining. Steady-state kinetics show that below pH 6.8, kcat is elevated by up to 5-fold in the W22F mutant as compared with the wild-type enzyme, although kcat/Km(dihydrofolate) is lower throughout the observed pH range. For the W22H mutant, both kcat and kcat/Km(dihydrofolate) are substantially lower than the corresponding wild-type values. While both mutations weaken dihydrofolate binding, cofactor NADPH binding is not significantly altered. Fitting of the kinetic pH profiles to a general protonation scheme suggests that the proton affinity of dihydrofolate may be enhanced upon binding to the enzyme. We suggest that the function of tryptophan-22 may be to properly position the side chain of methionine-20 with respect to N5 of the substrate dihydrofolate.
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PMID:Investigation of the functional role of tryptophan-22 in Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase by site-directed mutagenesis. 193 31

Since eucaryotic cell-derived thymidine or thymidine nucleotides are not incorporated into Chlamydia trachomatis DNA, we hypothesized that C. trachomatis must obtain dTTP for DNA synthesis by converting dUMP to dTMP. In most cells, this reaction is catalyzed by thymidylate synthase (TS) and requires 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate as a cofactor. We used C. trachomatis serovar L2 and a mutant CHO K1 cell line with a genetic deficiency in folate metabolism as a host for chlamydial growth. This cell line lacks a functional dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene and, as a result, is unable to carry out de novo synthesis of dTTP. C. trachomatis inclusions form normally when DHFR- cells are starved for thymidine 24 h prior to and during the course of infection. When [6-3H]uridine is used as a precursor to label C. trachomatis-infected CHO DHFR- cells, radiolabel is readily incorporated into chlamydia-specific DNA. When DNA from [6-3H]uridine-labelled infected cultures is acid hydrolyzed and subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, radiolabel is detected in thymine and cytosine nucleobases. By using the DHFR- cell line as a host and [5-3H]uridine as a precursor, we could monitor intracellular C. trachomatis TS activity simply by following the formation of tritiated water. There is a good correlation between in situ TS activity and DNA synthesis activity during the chlamydial growth cycle. In addition, both C. trachomatis-specific DNA synthesis and 3H2O release are inhibited by exogenously added 5-fluorouridine but not by 5-fluorodeoxyuridine. Finally, we demonstrated in vitro TS activity in crude extracts prepared from highly purified C. trachomatis reticulate bodies. The activity is dependent on the presence of methylenetetrahydrofolic acid and can be inhibited with 5-fluoro-dUMP. Taken together, these results indicate that C. trachomatis contains a TS for the synthesis of dTMP.
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PMID:Biochemical evidence for the existence of thymidylate synthase in the obligate intracellular parasite Chlamydia trachomatis. 193 73

The active sites of all bacterial and vertebrate dihydrofolate reductases that have been examined have a tryptophan residue near the binding sites for NADPH and dihydrofolate. In cases where the three-dimensional structure has been determined by X-ray crystallography, this conserved tryptophan residue makes hydrophobic and van der Waals interactions with the nicotinamide moiety of bound NADPH, and its indole nitrogen interacts with the C4 oxygen of bound folate through a bridge provided by a bound water molecule. We have addressed the question of why even the very conservative replacement of this tryptophan by phenylalanine does not seem to occur naturally. Human dihydrofolate reductase with this replacement of tryptophan by phenylalanine has increased rate constants for dissociation of substrates and products and a considerably decreased rate of hydride transfer. These cause some changes in steady-state kinetic behavior, including substantial increases in Michaelis constants for NADPH and dihydrofolate, but there is also a 3-fold increase in kcat. The branched mechanistic pathway for this enzyme has been completely defined and is sufficiently different from that of wild-type enzyme to cause changes in some transient-state kinetics. The most critical changes resulting from the amino acid substitution appear to be a 50% decrease in stability and a decrease in efficiency from 69% to 21% under intracellular conditions.
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PMID:Role of the conserved active site residue tryptophan-24 of human dihydrofolate reductase as revealed by mutagenesis. 199 Nov 24

N4-(2-Acetoxyethoxymethyl)-2-acetylpyridine thiosemicarbazone (AATSC) belongs to a series of molecules known to have broad antimicrobial inhibitory activity. These molecules contain the 2-acetoxyethoxy moiety which could conceivably take up a conformation analogous to that of the ribosyl group. Moreover, the thiosemicarbazone moiety, when in the presence of a suitable enzymatic site, could mimic the triazine group, which is found in a number of antifolate drugs. AATSC, which has both bacterial inhibitory activity and water solubility, was accordingly evaluated for its antifolate activity against the bovine liver dihydrofolate reductase. AATSC is shown to be a fully uncompetitive inhibitor of that enzyme. Furthermore, AATSC enhances the activity of methotrexate. Such a potentiation could be useful for therapeutic purposes.
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PMID:Inhibition of bovine dihydrofolate reductase and enhancement of methotrexate sensitivity by N4-(2-acetoxyethoxymethyl)-2-acetylpyridine thiosemicarbazone. 232 65

We examined the in vitro activity of 2-desamino-5,8-dideazafolate and 2-desamino-N10-propargyl-5,8-dideazafolate (desamino-CB3717), the more water-soluble 2-desamino analogues of 5,8-dideazafolate and N10-propargyl-5,8-dideazafolic acid (CB3717). We report Ki values for the inhibition of L1210 thymidylate synthase (TS) of 2 and 0.027 microM for 2-desamino-5,8-dideazafolate and desamino-CB3717, respectively, indicating a 30- and 10-fold loss in TS-inhibitory activity compared with the corresponding 2-NH2 compounds. The synthetic tri- and tetrapolyglutamate derivatives of desamino-CB3717 were 66- and 101-fold more potent than the monoglutamate form as inhibitors of TS. Both desamino compounds were more potent as inhibitors of L1210 and W1L2 cell growth than were their 2-amino counterparts. 2-Desamino-5,8-dideazafolate retains quite good activity against both the TS-overproducing W1L2:C1 line and the L1210 cell line grown in the presence of thymidine, suggesting that a secondary locus of action may be involved. This other target is a folate-dependent enzyme as evidenced by the protection of the inhibition of cell growth by the addition of hypoxanthine or folinic acid together with thymidine. The methotrexate-resistant, dihydrofolate reductase-overproducing L1210:R7A cell line is cross-resistant to 2-desamino-5,8-dideazafolate, which suggests that dihydrofolate reductase is the other target. An L1210 subline (1565) unable to transport reduced folates is 10-fold resistant to desamino-CB3717 and 2-desamino-5,8-dideazafolate but is not cross-resistant to CB3717 or 5,8-dideazafolate. The removal of the 2-amino function of CB3717 did not affect folylpolyglutamate synthetase substrate activity (CB3717 Km = 48 microM, desamino-CB3717 Km = 40 microM). However, both 5,8-dideazafolate and its desamino analogue were about 10-fold better substrates for folylpolyglutamate synthase than were the N10-propargyl compounds, and this may contribute to their good growth-inhibitory properties. In vivo, desamino-CB3717 cured approximately 75% of mice bearing the L1210:ICR tumor at doses of 50 mg/kg daily for 5 days and above (maximum tolerated dose greater than 1000 mg/kg daily for 5 days).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Activity of the thymidylate synthase inhibitor 2-desamino-N10-propargyl-5,8-dideazafolic acid and related compounds in murine (L1210) and human (W1L2) systems in vitro and in L1210 in vivo. 238 29

The role of Thr-113 of Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase in binding and catalysis was probed by amino acid substitution. Thr-113, a strictly conserved residue that forms a hydrogen bond to the active-site Asp-27 and to the amino group of methotrexate through a fixed water molecule, was replaced by valine. The kinetic scheme is identical in form with the wild-type scheme, although many of the rate constants vary, including a decrease in the association rate constants and an increase in the dissociation rate constants for folate ligands, a decrease in the hydride-transfer rate constant in both directions, and an increase in the intrinsic pKa of Asp-27. Overall, replacement of Thr-113 by Val decreases the binding of folate substrates by approximately 2.3 kcal/mol. These multiple complex changes on various ground and transition states underscore the optimal properties of a strictly conserved residue in the evolution of catalytic function.
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PMID:Probing the functional role of threonine-113 of Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase for its effect on turnover efficiency, catalysis, and binding. 249 45

The HSITE program proposed in the previous paper was written to define putative ligand-point regions that could be found at protein surfaces. These regions would represent positions for hydrogen-bonding acceptor and donor atoms. In this paper the prediction of the location of these regions is compared with: (1) the position of the oxygen atoms of water molecules on the hydrated proteins myoglobin and plastocyanin; and (2) the position of hydrogen-bonded atoms in methotrexate and NADPH co-crystallized with dihydrofolate reductase, and in amidinophenyl-pyruvate co-crystallized with trypsin. The prediction of ligand-point regions is in agreement with the surveys of experimental data for water-molecule positions in protein crystals and with the positions of hydrogen-bonding atoms found in co-crystallized ligands.
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PMID:Automated site-directed drug design: the prediction and observation of ligand point positions at hydrogen-bonding regions on protein surfaces. 256 76

Generation of nitric oxide (NO.), an autacoid with vasorelaxant and cytotoxic properties, requires at least three cytosolic components in mouse macrophages besides L-arginine and NADPH. One or more components appear after induction by immunologic stimuli; two or more are present in both activated and non-activated macrophages. The constitutive factors can be separated on a Mr approximately 30,000 cut-off filter into high Mr fraction (HF) and low Mr fraction (LF) (Stuehr, D. J., Kwon, N. S., Gross, S. S., Thiel, B. A., Levi, R., and Nathan, C. F. (1989) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 161, 420-426). Herein we characterize the major active component in LF. The active component was dialyzable (Mr less than approximately 1,000), water soluble, and cationic at acidic to neutral pH. Fractionation on a C18 column in an acetonitrile/water gradient yielded one broad peak of activity, most of which corresponded to a fluorophore with the excitation/emission spectra of biopterins. Gas chromatography isolated a species in this peak with the mass spectrum of biopterin. Of 14 pteridines tested, only 7,8-dihydrobiopterin (H2biopterin) or 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobiopterin (H4biopterin) could replace LF in synergizing with HF and the inducible component(s) to generate NO-2 and NO-3, the accumulating oxidation products of NO.. Half-maximal activity required 20-30 nM reduced biopterins. LFs from three cell lines were active in proportion to their content of biopterins; addition of reduced biopterins restored activity to LF from biopterin-deficient cells. Enhancement of NO-2 generation in the presence of H2biopterin but not H4biopterin was abolished by methotrexate and aminopterin, inhibitors of dihydrofolate reductase. These findings implicate a redox cycle in which the generation of NO. is facilitated by catalytic amounts of H4biopterin.
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PMID:Reduced biopterin as a cofactor in the generation of nitrogen oxides by murine macrophages. 258 26

The rapid kinetic phase that leads from unfolded species to transient folding intermediates in dihydrofolate reductase from Escherichia coli was examined by site-directed mutagenesis and by physicochemical means. The absence of this fluorescence-detected phase in the refolding of the Trp-74Phe mutant protein strongly implies that this early phase in refolding can be assigned to just one of the five Trp residues in the protein, Trp-74. In addition, water-soluble fluorescence quenching agents, iodide and cesium, have a much less significant effect on this early step in refolding than on the slower phases that lead to native and native-like conformers. These and other data imply that an important early event in the folding of dihydrofolate reductase is the formation of a hydrophobic cluster which protects Trp-74 from solvent.
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PMID:A hydrophobic cluster forms early in the folding of dihydrofolate reductase. 262 6


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